Opening a home daycare

[Fearlessbaby]

Hey, I'm opening a home daycare in Toronto- any tips? :)

[Momof4]

Welcome to our forum. My tip is for you to read through all of the old threads and you will find a wealth of information. We talk about everything on this site!

[Fearlessbaby]

Thank you, I've been learning a lot from this forum, I have a few concerns though - for instance, I want to tell parents that their child can only stay 9-10 hours and what should I charge if they decide to come pick up their child late?
Also, do you open on national holidays? If not, do you get paid?

[Wonderwiper]

Welcome! I am in the GTA as well. I am only open for 10 hours so that is the max time anyone is here. I don't offer extended hours...too exhausting. Fees are the same, no matter what time you use within my operating hours. I am closed all stat holidays and am paid for them. Parents not pay when I take vacation but they pay when they take vacation. Many providers get paid or their vacation though!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Thank you, I've been learning a lot from this forum, I have a few concerns though - for instance, I want to tell parents that their child can only stay 9-10 hours and what should I charge if they decide to come pick up their child late?
Also, do you open on national holidays? If not, do you get paid?

If a 9-10 hour max is a value to you than you make this clear in your contract....so for example my business hours are 7:30 - 4:30 and my normal fees are based that nine hour day and if you want MORE than nine hours you pay for extended morning care or extended evening care past that nine hours as per your contract with me.

I charge $1/minute late fee if you arrive after our 'contracted' hours, plus my contract clearly states that chronic issues with being late will result in termination of the contract because I do not WANT to deal with late clients regardless if they compensate me or not!

I think most providers choose to be closed on Stat holidays ~ direct payment for that day depends on the area you live and personal preference ... some people choose to have a little higher daily fee and NOT charge clients whenever they are closed and other providers choose to base their fees on the annual income they need for the 'space' and than divide that by 52 weeks and require clients to pay for the space regardless if they are closed for the listed stat days, vacation or however many sick days they want to factor into that fee and so forth!

[Momof4]

I have a maximum 9 hour day but the commute in our city is nothing as crazy as the commute in Toronto so I understand if you make 10 hours your maximum day. But make it clear to your clients that you do NOT want overtime and they will find a way, trust me. There are grandparents who can help, aunts, uncles OR they will take advantage of your good nature. Don't allow that.

My fee is $5/half hour for an early opening before 7:30am or late after 5pm, my closing time, or over a 9 hour day.

My stat/closed days are listed in my contact so parents can make sure they have them booked off with their employers. I explain it clearly to my clients, that payment is due in full 49 weeks of the year no matter if there are sick, missed or stat days. No questions, just full payment every week except for my vacations.

[Fearlessbaby]

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge- I"m reading all of these posts with a fine tooth comb!! So much to think about- I have an interview with a potential parent this Friday- so the more I sort out before the better!:)

[Fearlessbaby]

That sounds much easier- I was going to open from 7pm to 6pm- but that's 11hours and I don't know if I can take care of 2 babies for that long!!

[Momof4]

Good luck with your interview. We sometimes learn the hard way in this business, so if you can start out taking care of yourself so you don't become absolutely exhausted and unhappy we're glad we can help.

[Fearlessbaby]

Yeah, I've worked in child care centres, so I know all about the mum's with the grocery bags running in late! I want to avoid all that hassle.
The interview is for a 9 mos old and my daughter will be a year old by that time- do you think looking after 2 infants is crazy? I wanted to care for another child, but with 2 infants on my own, that may be more than I can handle. Also, should I charge more? I was quoting $45/day but seeing as centres charge about $1700/month, $900 seems too cheap,,, any thoughts?

[BlueRose]

As to what to charge, your best bet is to see what other home daycare's in your area are charging. If you go on the home page here and put in your postal code, you can see what others are charging.

but $900 for a home daycare seems about right to me. We are not big centers and most parents (but not all) will pay more for centers then a home daycare. I center doesn't close if a provider is sick and that's something parents will pay extra for.

[Momof4]

BlueRose is right, check out the prices in your area. As far as having more than one infant in care, I started out with 5 children all under age 2 and it was great. They all grew together and I didn't have any turnover for 3 years. However, then I was out of practice with babies and interviewing when I started all over again, but I have a new group of 5 all under the age of 3 and it all came back to me quickly. Now I have another group growing up together. I love it.

[Wonderwiper]

I'm the same as Momof4, I prefer to have my dck be similar in age. In my area it is mostly Moms going back to work who are looking for care so their kids are 12 months.

[Fearlessbaby]

I like the sound of having children all the same age- it makes a ton of sense! Thanks for the great advice!

[Momof4]

Great Nina, now let us know how your interviews are going!